CNN's Elizabeth Cohen looks at concerns with dating and sexually transmitted diseases.
It’s never easy reentering the dating scene after a divorce, but try doing it when you have genital herpes.
When you told men, “I have herpes”, how did they react?
I had one guy who is, I thought he was Mr. Perfect, um, until I told him and then he was like forget my number, don’t speak to me again, he just absolutely freaked out and acted like, you know, part of my body were about to fall off.
What men like him probably don’t know is that the dating scene is full of people like Jennifer Nicolas, where Jennifer is honest about having her herpes, not everyone is and they’re out there in force. One out of every four American women has genital herpes, a condition that can never be cured. The rates are somewhat lower for men. Think that’s high? Well, half of sexually active men and women would get HPV, a sexually transmitted disease sometimes in life. That’s a virus that can cause genital warts and cervical cancer, this, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control.
It makes you feel dirty and, and unwanted.
STDs are so hush-hush in our society we had a hard time finding someone who would even talk about it on camera.
Atlanta gynecologist Dr. Michael Robinowitz wasn’t no surprised. He says since no one talks about STDs, patients think they’re alone, despite the dramatic statistics showing that they’re not.
When you tell a woman, “You’ve got herpes.” What’s their reaction, usually?
There are almost always tears, un, anxiety, and why me? No they can’t be.
Once they get over the initial shock of being diagnosed with any STD, Dr. Robinowitz tells them, first of all, they have to be out in the open with anyone they’re thinking about sleeping with and they should use a condom and the partner should get tested.
So you tell them before you sleep with this person, just ask. Do you have an STD?
Yes, absolutely. Trust be verified.
As for Jennifer Nicolas, she has dated some men who are herpes-free and comfortable with the fact that she has the disease. She’s also dated men from the Atlanta H Club, a social group for people with herpes.
I went from being the only person that I knew that had it to knowing thousands of people that’ve had it.
Now she’s doing her part to stop the spread of America’s STD epidemic and to put an end to the stigma.
Elizabeth Cohen, CNN, Atlanta.
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